400-year-old Naick-era stone inscription found

A team of students and professors of Mannar Thirumalai College in Madurai recently discovered a 400 year old Naick-era stone inscription at a temple in Andipatti taluk in Theni.

The archaeologically precious material was discovered by Assistant professors of the Department of History of the college, R. Praiya and S. Rajagopal along with a few students.

Social activist S. Aswath was also in the team.

The stone inscription was originally installed at Pandya Meenakshi Sundareswar temple. However, this temple is now in a dilapidated condition.

Unaware of its archeological and historical significance, local people installed the stone inscription at Vinayagar temple. The stone has a Vaishnava symbol, the sun, the moon and a lotus flower with blurred letters.

Retired Archeologist Dr C. Santhalingam, while told media persons: "The inscriptions on the stone talk about Veerakandama Naicker having received a donation from Muthu Veerappa Naick who was the 6th ruler of the Madurai Naick Kingdom".

According to the local people, further exploration could provide more information on the Kandamanaykkanur local administration.